Mistakes you've learned from..

Hey guys, we are getting ready to get a new chameleon. We had a female veiled who passed away because she was unable to lay her eggs (genetic blockage we found out), but we were never happy with her cage and had a lot of problems with drainage and water. So we are wanting to build our next cage. I was just wondering if there are any mistakes or things that didn't work or were a disaster for you?

We were thinking of building a false bottom out or plastic grating, covering it with a piece of wire mesh and then coconut susbstrate so that the water would flow to a trap under the floor to a tray we can dump. Does this sound possible? What did you guys do for drainage in your cages that works?

Do not use a coconut substrate, it can cause impaction. In the cage I'm building, the bottom is shaped sorta like a sink, with a central screened drain.

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We used coconut substrate (the exoterra stuff) with our last Cham, I don't think I ever saw her walk on the ground... does it cause impaction from eating it? That's what the reptile place recommended as an easy way to up the humidity. I hated no substrate because the water issues get worse and humidity was harder for me to control, what would you recommend instead?

Yes, it causes impaction by eating it. As for keeping humidity up, it depends on your cage. I use a combination of hand misting and a humidifier to maintain humidity. And have a drainage system built in.

Yes, it causes impaction by eating it. As for keeping humidity up, it depends on your cage. I use a combination of hand misting and a humidifier to maintain humidity. And have a drainage system built in.

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I have a fogged, and misted regularly, still too cold/not humid without substrate in my house. We keep it cold (under 73 in the day). I am trying to figure out drainage. And best cage designs, especially doors now too.

My most recent mistake was not properly breaking all the bark off the additional branches/walkways I added to my girl’s cage last week. She had munched on some bark and I was worried about impaction - and looked very uncomfortable last night.

Thankfully, she took a fairly massive dump today, with one of her “capsules” looking quite dense and dry. I was all scheduled to get her an enema at the vet tomorrow, but am glad she got past my foul error. I had been misting her with warm water to help, but I really just think that she had been hunting so much and just needed to pinch a loaf.

Live plants help tremendously with humidity. Unless you are going to make a bio-active substrate, bare floor is best. Easy to clean, no risk of impaction and feeders cant hide in it. If you have difficulty maintaining humidity like I did, wrap two or three sides of the cage in plastic sheet. I wrapped two sides and not my humidity barely drops below 40% when the cage is bone dry.